Monday, December 31, 2012

So long 2012!

Tomorrow will be the requisite 2013 Resolution blog (which will likely look very similar to the 2012 post, meh), but I thought I'd take a minute today to look back on 2012.

2012 was a big year for me - a lot of good, but a lot of not-so-good sprinkled in too, often very related.

The Good:
I got myself out of a bad rut that was affecting me both mentally and physically. Physically, I don't think I was ever unhealthier than in 2011: I had breathing problems, pretty bad allergies, my weight ballooned in a very unhealthy way, I got addicted to coffee and the caffeine in it - just all around a very unhealthy way to live. Stress at work didn't help, neither did some personal issues that I look back on as one of the low-points in my life, and they all sort of jumbled together and fed each other. 2012 fixed a lot of that though: I turned my health around and lost 25 pounds during the first part of the year (even ran/walked a 5k with my sister) which in turn helped with a lot of the other health issues, I switched to another job that I enjoyed a lot more and (at the time) was less stressful, and eventually worked through the issues in my screwed up head.

I took the next step on my volunteer journey and joined the board of directors for the non-profit group that manages the Richmond Men's Chorus and Richmond Women's Chorus, and took an added leadership role as the leader of the 5th Section, the technical group for the RMC/RWC.

Looking back, I also see how I got a LOT done on the house: I rented the downstairs, the back deck was replaced and the front & side yards were tidied up, so that for the first time in my life, I was actually semi-proud of the property I owned and wasn't embarrassed to say that it was mine.

The Bad:
As fantastic as the weight loss was last year, it stalled around April and never really got back on track. Since then I've had good months and bad months, and while I've at least kept myself near my adult-life-low I haven't lost any more either.

Not coincidentally, April was also the month that work-related stress picked back up. The department I manage had a lot change thrown at it in a very short time, and a lot of it fell to me (forced is really the wrong word: while required, it's also something that we wanted to do). That forced me into some roles and work relationships that, if I'm being honest with myself, I wasn't completely ready for and am still not completely comfortable in. It also meant a lot of late nights, which as the year progressed, tended to be at Xtra's, the local bar. Now, don't get me wrong: I LOVE Xtra's. But night-after-night, usually with a beer (or three or four) and a big meal isn't the best thing; not for your wallet, not for your health, and not for social life (honestly, who wants to be with the guy at a bar who's nose-deep into his computer?)

To sum it all up: great strides in a lot of areas, but not so great that I can't point to a number of things in all the areas that I should've (and could've) done a lot better in. So that sets the foundation for the 2013 resolutions.